Total thyroidectomy without prophylactic central neck dissection in clinically node-negative papillary thyroid cancer: is it an adequate treatment?

Abstract

BackgroundCervical lymph node metastases in papillary thyroid cancer are common. Although central neck dissection is indicated in clinically nodal-positive disease, it remains controversial in patients with no clinical evidence of nodal metastasis. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the outcomes of clinically lymph node-negative patients with papillary thyroid cancer who underwent total thyroidectomy without a central neck dissection, in order to determine the rates of recurrence and reoperation in these patients compared with a group of patients submitted to total thyroidectomy with central neck dissection.MethodsTwo-hundred and eighty-five patients undergoing total thyroidectomy with preoperative diagnosis of papillary thyroid cancer, in the absence of suspicious nodes, were divided in two groups: those who underwent a thyroidectomy only (group A; n = 220) and those who also received a central neck dissection (group B; n = 65).ResultsSix cases (2.1%) of nodal recurrence were observed: 4 in group A and 2 in group B. Tumor histology was associated with risk of recurrence: Hürthle cell-variant and tall cell-variant carcinomas were associated with a high risk of recurrence. Multifocality and extrathyroidal invasion also presented a higher risk, while smaller tumors were at lower risk.ConclusionsThe role of prophylactic central lymph node dissection in the management of papillary thyroid cancer remains controversial. Total thyroidectomy appears to be an adequate treatment for clinically node-negative papillary thyroid cancer. Prophylactic central neck dissection could be considered for the more appropriate selection of patients for radioiodine treatment and should be reserved for high-risk patients only. No clinical or pathological factors are able to predict with any certainty the presence of nodal metastasis. In our experience, tumor size, some histological types, multifocality, and locoregional infiltration are related to an increased risk of recurrence. The potential use of molecular markers will hopefully offer a further strategy to stratify the risk of recurrence in patients with papillary thyroid cancer and allow a more tailored approach to offer prophylactic central neck dissection to patients with the greatest benefit. Multi-institutional larger studies with longer follow-up periods are necessary to draw definitive conclusions.

Association of BRAFV600E Mutation and MicroRNA Expression with Central Lymph Node Metastases in Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Prospective Study from Four Endocrine Surgery Centers

“…Thyroidectomy and therapeutic neck dissection is recommended for patients with known metastatic lymph nodes identified either pre-or intraoperatively (3). However, the benefit of prophylactic central lymph node dissection (CLND) in patients who have no pre-or intraoperative evidence of nodal metastasis remains controversial (3,5,6). Some argue that CLND may reduce the recurrence rate of lymph node metastasis, while others claim that patients receive no benefit, yet experience increased risk of permanent hypoparathyroidism and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (6)(7)(8).…”

Cervical Lymph Node Dissection for Papillary Thyroid Cancers: A Decade Experience of a Single Surgical Team

“…The reasons why such small percentage of FNAC performed is in part due to the fact that only a few endocrinologists perform FNAC but also because a lot of patients refuse it. While there is general acceptance that clinically evident nodal disease should be removed for therapeutic purposes, there is strong debate among endocrine surgeons regarding PCND (3,6,9,12,21,22). According to its proponents, PCND lowers the risk of local recurrence and increases long-term survival without increasing the risk of permanent morbidity (23).…”

Evaluation of Accuracy of One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) in Diagnosis of Lymph Node Metastases of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

“…Prognostic value of lymph node metastases in PTC is a matter of debate. If some authors have shown that lymph node metastases do not decrease survival rate [5][6][7][8][9][10], others have suggested that lymph node involvement is a significant prognostic factor affecting both disease-free [11] and overall survival [12,13] rate. Consequently, also the optimal extent of cervical lymphectomy remains controversial.…”